Ger Blok (16 October 1939 – 19 December 2016) was a Dutch

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

Managerial career

Blok was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and supported Blauw-Wit as a child. Before becoming a manager, he was employed as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

Bilthoven Bilthoven is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt. It has a railway station with connections to Utrecht (city), Utrecht, Amersfoort and Baarn. It is home to the Ne ...

. At the age of 29, Blok became the manager of amateur side SVM. In 1971, he started managing professional club

De Volewijckers ASC De Volewijckers is a Dutch football club that plays in the Vierde Klasse. It is a continuation of ASV–DWV and AVV De Volewijckers. History ASV–DWV ASV-DWV or Door Wilskracht Verkregen was founded on 12 May 1912 in present-day Amsterda ...

. In 1974, after De Volewijckers merged with

FC Amsterdam FC Amsterdam was a Dutch football club which was founded on 20 June 1972, from the merger of the Amsterdam football clubs Blauw Wit and DWS. History The club Volewijckers joined the side for the 1973–1974 season, in which season FC Amsterdam ...

, Blok found employment with the

Royal Dutch Football Association The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues ( Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch men's and w ...

(KNVB), managing the

Netherlands women's national football team The Netherlands women's national football team () represents the Netherlands in international Women's association football, women's football, and is directed by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), which is a member of UEFA and FIFA. ...

between 1974 and 1975 and several national youth teams between 1975 and 1985. With the under-20 team, he secured qualification for the

1983 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship was the fourth edition FIFA World Youth Championship tournament, hosted from 2 June to 19 June 1983 in seven venues in Mexico — Guadalajara, Irapuato, León, Mexico City, Monterrey, Puebla and Toluca — w ...

, but

Kees Rijvers Cornelus Bernardus Rijvers (27 May 1926 – 4 March 2024) was a Dutch association football, footballer who was active as a midfielder and later as coach for PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team. Pl ...

was chosen to coach the team during the tournament. In 1987, Blok became the manager of

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

. He later reflected that the team had been good enough to qualify for the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

, but this did not come to be. He subsequently returned to the Netherlands, where, in the summer of 1988, he was appointed as manager of newly promoted

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

club

RKC Waalwijk RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Waalwijk. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie i ...

. However, after half a season, he was sacked and replaced by

Leo van Veen Leo van Veen (; born 6 June 1946) is a Dutch former footballer who played as a forward or defender. During his career he played for FC Utrecht, Los Angeles Aztecs, Ajax Amsterdam and RKC Waalwijk, making 555 appearances in the Eredivisie ...

. He then moved to Turkey, working as manager of

Mersin İdmanyurdu Mersin İdman Yurdu was a Turkish sports club from Mersin, Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean Region. The team played in the Turkish first division for 15 seasons, and after the 1983–84 season the football team played in the Turkish second and ...

between January and May 1990 and as assistant of

Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...

at Fenerbahçe S.K. during the 1990–91 season. He also coached

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, between 1993 and 1996.

Later life

Shortly after finishing his coaching job in Myanmar, Blok was in an accident (a fall from stairs), which caused him to become

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

and in need of a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

. In 2005, he said that he remained an ardent follower of football. In June 2012, he commented on the selection policy of then-Netherlands head coach

Bert van Marwijk Lambertus van Marwijk (; born 19 May 1952) is a Dutch Association football, football manager who is a member of the supervisory board for MVV Maastricht. As a player, he played for the Go Ahead Eagles, AZ Alkmaar, AZ, MVV Maastricht, MVV and For ...

. Blok died of

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

at his home in 2016, he was 77 years old.Oud-bondscoach Ger Blok (77) overleden
- RTV Noord Holland

References

External links

* 1939 births 2016 deaths Sportspeople from Amsterdam Dutch football managers Dutch expatriate football managers Netherlands women's national football team managers Honduras national football team managers Expatriate football managers in Honduras Eredivisie managers RKC Waalwijk managers Mersin Talim Yurdu managers Expatriate football managers in Turkey Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Honduras Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Myanmar Myanmar national football team managers Expatriate football managers in Myanmar ASC De Volewijckers managers {{Netherlands-footy-bio-stub